THE NEXT THING YOU WILL PAY FOR : AIR

How breath — once free — is being packaged and priced

The essay reveals how clean air, once freely available, is becoming the next commercial commodity—just like water—through a systematic process of pollution, fear marketing, legal control, and privatized solutions. As industries poison the environment and governments fail to protect the commons, people are forced to buy air purifiers, bottled oxygen, and pay for access to clean air zones. This shift turns basic breathing into a class-based privilege, where the rich can filter and buy air, while the poor inhale toxicity—normalizing a future where survival itself is monetized, and nature becomes property.

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1. STAGE ONE: POLLUTE THE COMMONS

Before anything can be sold, its natural form must be destroyed.

Air is polluted by industries, vehicles, chemical agriculture, construction, and fossil fuels.

Forests are cut. Ventilation is lost.

Urban air becomes dangerous — especially in cities like Delhi, Kanpur, Mumbai, Bengaluru.

Result:

People stop trusting the air they breathe.

They start looking for filtered, “safe” air.

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2. STAGE TWO: BUILD FEAR

Now comes the fear narrative:

AQI (Air Quality Index) apps show red alerts daily.

Headlines scream: “Breathing is equivalent to smoking 50 cigarettes.”

Schools are shut down during smog.

Babies, elderly, and asthmatics suffer visibly.

This isn’t false. It’s real. But it’s also manufactured — by profit-friendly neglect.

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3. STAGE THREE: INTRODUCE THE PRODUCT

Once fear is widespread, the products appear.

a) Air Purifiers

From ₹5,000 to ₹60,000

Every brand enters the market: Philips, Dyson, Xiaomi, Kent

Built-in replacement cycles, filters, electricity usage

b) Oxygen Bars

₹300–₹700 per 15-minute session

Aromatic oxygen, advertised as “refreshing” and “boosting immunity”

c) Portable Canned Air

Bottled oxygen sold like mineral water

Marketed in polluted metros and at high altitudes

₹500–₹800 per can (3–5 minutes of use)

d) Smart Air Subscriptions

App-linked air control units

Monthly charges for "clean zones" in luxury buildings or offices

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4. STAGE FOUR: MAKE IT A CLASS ISSUE

As with water:

The rich install purifiers, oxygen stations, indoor air quality monitors.

The poor breathe toxic fumes.

Luxury hotels, malls, and offices advertise “fresh air flow rate” like they used to advertise mineral water.

Apartments list “clean air zones” as a selling point.

Some gated communities have begun running central air cleaning systems — at a premium.

Air is no longer shared. It is tiered.

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5. STAGE FIVE: LEGAL & INFRASTRUCTURE CONTROL

Now come the policies:

Government sets indoor air quality regulations — forcing purchases.

Licensing for oxygen plants and refill centers (e.g. during COVID).

Pollution certificates mandatory — but enforcement is biased and favors big firms.

Climate finance and “green credits” allow companies to profit off the pollution they caused.

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6. STAGE SIX: NORMALIZE PAYMENT FOR AIR

Just like we now pay for:

Clean water

Clean food

Clean fuel

Clean spaces

You will soon pay monthly to breathe clean air:

In metros

In offices

In hospitals

In smart homes

In premium travel

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WHO PROFITS?

Air purifier companies

HVAC system installers

Oxygen bar chains

Smart city contractors

Real estate developers

Climate-tech startups

Government via carbon tax and green credits

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AND WHAT DO YOU LOSE?

Free breath

Trust in your environment

The right to simply exist

Autonomy from the market

Children’s lungs

Public health

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THIS IS NOT A FUTURE PREDICTION — IT’S THE PRESENT

Air is no longer guaranteed.

And like water, it’s being stolen in slow motion —

while we buy the solution back, one breath at a time.

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